George gross



(No Model!) G. GROSS. BICYCLE FRAME AND ART OF FINISHING SAME, No.546,446. Patented Sept. 17, 1895.

H ITNESSES: I/v l E/V 703x Q5039: GROSS W .5) ,2 flsqfllmpk.

H/S JTTORNEY-S.

UNTTPED STATES PATENT Curios.

GEORGE GROSS, OF PLYMOUTH, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE PLYMOUTH CYCLEMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BlCYCLE-FRAME AND ART OF FlNlSHlNG SAME.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 546,446, datedSeptember 17, 1895.

Application filed geptember 15, 1894- Serial No. 523,120.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE GROSS, a citizen of the United States,residing in Plymouth,in the county of Marshall and State of Indiana,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bicycle-Frames and the Artof Finishing the Same, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the art of finishing bicycle-frames.

Bicycle-frames are made of drawn-steel tubing, the surface of the samebeing bright and smooth or polished before the finish is applied, and inuse the frames are exposed to mud and Wet.

The object of my improvement is to provide, without the expense ofelectroplating with nickel or other metal, a durable, smooth, hard, highgloss or polished metallic finish, untarnishable and capable ofwithstanding exposure to mud and moisture. To accomplish this object orresult I proceed as follows, and herein my invention consists:

The surface of the steel bicycle-frame tubing being first made perfectlyclean and bright, I apply thereto with a camels-hair brush a coating ofsize composed of the following ingredients, preferably in the followingproportions: slow-baking varnish, one pint; boiled linseed-oil, twoounces; white lead, one-quarter pound. The admixture of the white leadin the size gives it additional body and also a slight tint of white,thus enabling the workman to coat the bright steel tubes evenly andperfectly throughout their whole surface, which could not well be doneunless the perfect transparency of the size were in some way relieved orremoved. The admixture of the white lead also tends to obscure or coverup the bright steel surface or luster of the tubes. I next bake theframetube so coated in an oven at a temperature, preferably, of about150 Fahrenheit, for a period, preferably, of about fifteen minutes,until the size is given a strong tack and semihard body. The frame isthen taken out of the oven and a coating of dry powdered aluminum bronzeis dusted on or applied witha camels-hair brush and afterward rubbed inthoroughly with a felt pad. The frame is then baked in an oven,preferably for about (No model.)

three hours and at a temperature of about 225 Fahrenheit, until thecoating of size and aluminum bronze is perfectly hard. The frame is thengiven one coat of pure white baking varnish, applied, preferably, with acamels-hair brush. It is then baked in an oven at a temperature of 160Fahrenheit, preferably for about four hours, and the frame then has aperfectly hard, smooth, high gloss and polished aluminum finish which isuntarnishable and capable of being exposed to mud and water withoutinjury.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Lhave illustrated at Figure 1 a side elevation of a bicycle-framecomposed of steel tubing provided with my improved aluminum finish. Fig.2 is an enlarged cross-section of one of the tubes, indicat-in g theseveral coatings of the finish.

In the drawings, A represents the bicycleframe, composed of drawn-steeltubing having bright steel outer surfaces at.

a. is the coating of size first applied, a the coating of aluminumbronze, and a the final coating of slow-baking varnish.

I claim- 1. The process of finishing bright steel tube bicycleframesconsisting in first applying to the bright steel surfaces of the tubes acoating of size composed of slow baking varnish, boiled linseed oil andWhite lead in the proportion substantially as specified; then baking theframe tube so coated until the coating of size is given a strongsemi-hard tack, then applying and rubbing in a coating of dry aluminumbronze powder, then baking in an oven until,hard, then applying acoating of baking varnish, and finally baking for a third time in anoven, whereby the frame is given a perfectly smooth hard high gloss andpolished aluminum finish, untarnishable and capable of being exposed tomud and moistme without injury, substantially as specified.

The process of finishing bright steel tube bicycle frames with a hard,smooth, untarnishable finish, capable of being exposed to mud and.moisture without injury, said process consisting in first applying tothe bright steel surfaces of the tubes a coating of size, then bakingthe same to produce a strong semi hard tack, then applying and rubbingin ICU a coating of aluminum bronze powder, then baking in an oven untilhard, then coating with varnish and rebaking, substantially asspecified.

3. The bright steel tube bicycle frame provided with a hard, smooth,untarnishable aluminum finish capable of being exposed to mud andmoisture without injury, said finish being composed of a hard bakedcoating of size, a hard baked coating of aluminum bronze 1o powder, andan outer hard baked coating of varnish, substantially as specified.

GEORGE GROSS. Witnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, S. E. O'URTIs.

